Josie Malinowski

Biography

I've been captivated by dreams for as long as I can remember, going back to keeping a dream journal as a kid. In my early 20s I joined the Surrealist London Action Group and we talked about our dreams often, sometimes using them to make cut up dream poems. One day, while trying to figure out what to do with my life, I came up with a plan: "I'm going to figure out what dreams are". So I went back to university, got a MSc in Experimental Psychology, and then, as luck would have it, just as I finished that degree I saw an advert for a PhD in dream psychology. I went straight into that and completed my doctoral thesis at the end of 2012. Since then I have been employed as a psychology lecturer at different UK universities and I have been researching dreams ever since. I'm interested in pretty much everything there is to know about dreams, but my research has focused mainly on how dreaming may be contributing to our minds work - how we store memories, process emotions, think creatively, and so on. I've also research the "dream rebound effect", which is the ironic way that when we try to stop ourselves thinking about something we don't want to think about, we end up dreaming about it. I'm interested also in dreamwork - using dreams for helping us to understand ourselves a bit better. On a more personal level, I'm more interested in the dreams that I have no idea whatsoever how to explain - the spectacularly weird, the seemingly paranormal, etc.  

Education

University of Exeter, 2002-2005, BA (Hons) Classical Studies
Royal Holloway, University of London, 2006-7, MA Classics
University of Sussex, 2008-9, MSc Experimental Psychology
Leeds Beckett University, 2009-12, PhD Psychology

Personal Interests

I'm a book addict, I always have at least ten books on the go. I also write fiction as well as non-fiction; currently I'm planning a time travel novel which shows the hidden histories of London. I love to create things in general, I'm as happy painting or making collages as I am writing. I'm also a big music fan, I'll listen to any genre if the song is good but I'm particularly partial to noisy electronica and mind-melting prog rock. I play music as well - I'm in two samba bands where I play either the tamborim (a very small but very loud drum) or the surdo (a much larger bass drum). I live with my cat Ronnie James Leo, who looks like a bruiser but in reality has a heart of gold.

Websites

• Oneirology

Books

Articles